FAQs

What is a Jewish social justice text?

For the purposes of On1Foot, a Jewish text is either written by a Jew (from Beruria to Ralph Lemkin, Rashi to Emma Goldman) or written about Jewish social justice by an outside source—academic, journalistic, etc. Texts on the site will likely answer one or more of the following questions:

Is there a Jewish way to be involved with social justice (as there is a Jewish way to pray, for example)?

What has been the role of Jews in social justice efforts throughout history and in contemporary times?

What are the values that Judaism espouses? How might we put those values into practice in today’s global community?

How, as Jews, are we meant to respond to the vast injustices plaguing today’s world?

When the amount of need is so great, how, as Jews, might we prioritize our social activism and create the most change?

How does Jewish history, law, thought and custom come to bear on how we see ourselves, as Jews, doing the work of social justice?

Do I need to register?

You do not need to register in order to search, browse and view texts, classes, or divrei torah. If you want to add comments, upload materials or create source sheets, you do need to register.

If I register, will I receive a lot of e-mails from On1Foot or AJWS?

No. We ask users who are adding content to On1Foot to register so that we can contact them if there is a problem with the content they add. Other than that, we will e-mail users only to inform them of significant changes to the site. For more information about our privacy policy, click here.

How do I upload materials?

Thank you for sharing your materials with our community of learners and teachers! Click here for step by step instructions on uploading texts, classes, or divrei torah. Uploading a text requires registering. You can register here.

Towards the bottom of each text page is a section titled “Comments on this Text.” Under “Post new Comment” there is a field into which you can type your comment or question. Adding comments to a text requires registering. You can register here.

The Hebrew text looks funny. How do I fix it?

Different browsers display Hebrew text in different ways. If you can’t read the Hebrew text or if it looks funny, try viewing the site in Internet Explorer. If you are using Firefox, make sure you are using the most updated version. For more information about viewing Hebrew text, visit http://www.mechon-mamre.org/tech.htm.

Why is it called On1Foot?

The name On1Foot is based on the following story from the Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat 31a:

On another occasion it happened that a certain non-Jew came before Shammai and said to him, “I will convert to Judaism, on condition that you teach me the whole Torah while I stand on one foot.” Shammai chased him away with the builder's tool that was in his hand.
He came before Hillel and said to him, "Convert me." Hillel said to him, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary; go and learn it.”

This story articulates the most fundamental principle of Jewish social justice: respecting the dignity of others. On1Foot brings together Jewish texts that form the commentary. Come and learn.